Gaming W/Jemal: Planar Quest! (Closed)

Alright everybody, as mentioned in a previous thread, I'm rather fond of higher level D&D, and so I've decided to run a 3.5 game.

Now, I have a few ideas of what to run, and since the high lvl crowd tends to be a bit smaller, I'm going to ask you which you'd prefer to play. Please answer the poll! Even if you just like reading the games. :P

The first option is a lower-level remake of a game I used to run, Epic Problem.
Now, I had a great (Well, I think so..) story worked out for that one that I never got to finish.. I think one of the primary mistakes I made back then was that I tried to run multiple epic games at the same time.. and even worse, I tried to run two of them in the same world! (Epic problem had a good and an evil team.)

Epic Problem

The original is located HERE
Toning it down for non-epic play is rather simple, and gives the chance to pit Non-Epic Heroes in a non-epic setting against Epic Villains. There are a few things in the story that need to change.
Instead of being Epic characters hired from outside and sent in by the Gods, the PC's would be some of the most powerful heroes INSIDE the material when the Epic Villains appear, and it is up to them to save the world from these seemingly unstoppable extra-planar Legendary Evils..

Now the second Idea I'd like to pitch to you is for people who'd prefer to try a fresh campaign.

Jemals Quest

It will start with all (Or at least most) of the PC's being members of a pre-established adventuring band. Friends, family, companions, maybe the new guy who just got recruited, etc.. They've been collecting clues throughout their careers that have finally lead them to a great discovery! They've found information that will start them on a mighty Quest spanning the Planes themselves, leading them to a hidden realm in which the gods themselves cannot tread, where lies a sleeping power that has been calling to them for years..

So please answer the poll as to which one you'd prefer to play/watch!

In either case, the character creation rules will be the same, so please base your decision on which setting you'd prefer. The first will be contained almost entirely within the material plane, while the second will likely take place mostly on other planes.

*Character Creation rules in post 10*

Last edited by Jemal; Monday, 12th November, 2012 at 07:37 AM.

Intelligence is the capacity to understand old Ideas.
Imagination is the ability to come up with New Ideas.

Perhaps this strange realm is discovered...and from out of it come the nightmarish villainry that cause the Epic Problem. Perhaps the hidden realm is, in addition to whatever else it is, a prison for some kind of massively powerful entity that was locked away because nothing could actually destroy it at the time it once walked the world...

In breaching the prison, the evil is released into the world...but perhaps the means to defeat it is within it as well...

Alright, looks like the extraplanar quest is a resounding winner with 6 votes.

So, those that voted to play (Whichever game) Are welcome to suggest character concepts. I think 5-6 characters will be my limit for this.

So, creation rules (Sorry, totally spaced on posting them earlier)

CHARACTER CREATION RULES:

OK, First off, Here's my massive list of House Rules.

Jemals House Rules

RULE NUMBER ZERO
I like Dragons. If you want to play as one, have one as a cohort/mount, etc, just ask and we'll work something out.RULE NUMBER ONE
MAD... Mutually Assured Destruction. I won't pull out uber-nasty stuff if you don't.

INJURIES
How I'll be describing how injured enemies are will be based on a percentage of their total hp, modified by how difficult it is to gauge their wounds (It's easier to tell how hurt a normal person is comapared to say Someone fully covered in platemail, or a strange monster). I'll post one of these up every few rounds.
Uninjured: HP>90%
Mildly Injured: 70-90%
Injured: 50-70%
Badly Injured: 30-50%
Severely Injured: 10-30%
Nearly Dead: HP<10%

STATS
I'd prefer it if people didn't pump their stats TOO much (Specifically AC, Attack bonuses, Saves). I'd prefer not to have the case of "Monster needs a 20 to hit player X, a 2 to hit anyone else" or "OK, saves everybody.. X and Y need 20's, everyone else don't roll a 1".
It makes encounter design a lot more of a headache when the numbers are too far gone. SO, If you notice your numbers are a LOT higher (Say more than 20) than everyone else, either look into devoting less to that stat, or helping the others bring their power up to your level.
Don't be too worried about keeping in line with the other players, everyone SHOULD have their own unique strengths and weaknesses, just don't go overboard on pumping something. If any of your Attack/AC/Saves numbers has three digits, for example, it's probably too high...
Unless you can all swing such numbers in which case - Sweet, I can take off the gloves and throw the paragon pseudonatural half-draconic 3-headed tarrasquelich at you guys. j/k... mostly.

DEATH
Instead of dying at -10, you die at -CON Score.. so if your constitution is 36, you don't die until -36. IF your con happens to be below 10.. Well, tough luck, I guess. Any effect that mentions the "Dying" state (normally -1 to -9) now reffers instead to this 'extended' dying state.

ONE HIT KILLS/DISABLES - I dislike attack forms meant to end a fight with a single attack, such as instant death attacks, "Save-OR" effects, etc. I'm not going to outlaw it, especially against minor encounters, but remember MAD. If you start flinging Dominate Monter/Death Spells, etc at bosses, I'll have bosses start throwing them back.

Which Brings us to IMMUNITIES
I dislike characters having numerous immunities.
Mind Blank does not exist.
Don't bother taking Immunities to Death Effects. See above RE: Instant Death. If you don't use them, I wont. If you do, your immunity wont help you.
Freedom of Movement does not give immunity to grapple. It gives + Caster Level to checks made to escape grapples. Rest is as normal.

SKILLS
General: Nat 1's are equal to a -20 on skill/ability checks, auto fail anything else. Nat 20's are equal to a 40 on skill/ability checks, auto-succeed anything else.
Diplomacy/Intimidate/Perform: I'm not fond of the high-lvl usages of these skills to control people. As such, these skills now work equally well against PCs. (See MAD)
Spot/Listen, Hide/Move Silent : I prefer the pathfinder method of Perception and Stealth. If you have Spot and/Or Listen as a class skill, you gain Perception instead. Likewise with Hide/Move Silent turning into Stealth. HOWEVER If you have any bonuses that DONT apply to both (Size bonus to Hide, racial bonus to spot, etc) then you only get HALF the bonus (Round down minimum 1).

MISCELLANEOUS
I do not use Massive Damage rules.
Mordenkainen's Disjunction does not destroy items that are in an intelligent creature's possession.
Superior Invisibility does not exist.

New Spell:
PowerSight
LEVEL: 1 (Bard, Dragon), 2 (All other).
Duration: Instantaneous.
Casting Time: 1 Swift Action.
Description: Gives ECL of a single target, if within 10 ECL of caster level, or general estimate if more than 10 removed. Grants +5 Divine bonus to Knowledge and Gather Information checks about the target if made within 1 hour of casting.

Equipment
I don't like housekeeping mundane gear at higher levels, so I allow adventurers to aquire a new item called the "Bag of Random Stuff". There are two types.
Type A: NonMagical : This is a normal backpack that just has a lot of stuff crammed into it. It cannot be used to store anything, but whenever you need a mundane piece of gear worth 100gp or less, you can reach in and find it *Assuming it can fit* (Full round action to dig around). Deduct the cost of the item from the amount stored in the bag.
Cost: 10 GP + however much 'stuff' you want to be able to pull out of it (Can be 'reloaded' at any store).
Type B: Magical: This can take the form of a Hewards Handy Haversack or Bag of Holding. It's carrying capacity is halved. It works like a nonmagical Bag of Random Stuff, but there is no price limit to the gear that can be pulled out (Provided it is not magical). Any 'special' gear (Special/Alchemical substances/items, Special materials, etc) costs twice as much. (IE an Adamantine Battleaxe would cost 6020 to pull out of the bag, or alchemist's fire for 40gp. )
Cost: Base bag + amount inside.
Type C: Portal to the Bazaar : This is reserved for High level/Epic games. This seemingly ordinary bag is actually a dimensional portal to the Bazaar, an entire plane full of merchants. The owner has an account with a trusted (Well as much as those guys can be trusted) Merchant in the Bazaar, and can use the bag to buy or sell items without needing to travel. Any purchaseable item that can fit through the 4'X4' Opening (Including magic items) may be purchased at standard Market Price +10%.
Likewise, the merchant will buy any goods placed inside at 50% standard Market Price. They will be automatically and correctly Appraised. (There's demand for practically everything in the Bazaar, so he can resell it). The Portal's owner will have his account credited the amount. The owner can also add to his account by simply depositing money straight into the bag. There are no refunds however, only store credit.
Cost: 20,000 + Account balance.

OK, now that Massive Text Wall # 1 is out of the way, time for Wall # 2:

Specific Creation Rules

SOURCES
I have easy access to and understanding of the following material: Core, some Completes (Warrior, Arcane, Mage, Divine, Adventurer, Scoundrel), Draconomicon, Dragon Magic, and Races of the Dragon.
Anything outside that will have to be asked for on a case-by-case basis.

Gear: You each start with an even Mill: 1,000,000 GP.
I'll allow any non-magical gear from standard sources.
Magical gear: If it's not Core, It will be on a case-by-case basis.
I DO allow item slot-swapping and stacking. (You could add +6 str AND dex to a pair of gloves, for example, or make a Vest of natural armour instead of an Amulet, using the normal DMG rules for such).

Intelligent Items are allowed (In fact, I encourage at least one in the party), but with the following caveats:
Any intelligent item will have: 18 in one mental stat, 16 in another, 14 in the third; 3 lesser powers, 1 or 2 greater powers; 120 ft. darkvision, blindsense, and hearing, Speech, Telepathy with wielder; AND a special purpose. Base price of +10,000GP + powers. You will NOT have to pay the special power cost (But see below).
Also, if it's your weapon, it can be a special material (Adamantine, Cold iron, etc) as a free upgrade.

Player picks the Lesser/Greater powers and stat distribution. (Alignment will be same as Character)
DM picks the personality, Languages, and special purpose/power UNLESS the character made the item with the appropriate Item Creation Feat. (Don't worry I wont screw you over.). We'll decide between us who roleplays the item.

You also have developed a party fund of 100,000 GP. This is generally used for healing, lodging, food, and other expenses. You may not buy personal gear out of this, but with party consensus you may use it to buy party items (Wands, Potions, etc).

RACES
All non-core races/templates are on a Case-by-Case Basis.
Most non-standard races/templates will likely have increased Level Adjustment as a form of discouragement/balance.
Specifics:
Half-Dragons will stay at LA +3, but gain their wings regardless of size.
There will be two new types of Half-dragon that have +4 LA : Shadow (Immunity to Negative energy/Level drain), and Force(Immune to Force effects).
Dragons from the core Monsters Manual have a Level Adjustment = Age Category (This takes precedence over the Draconomicon)

STATS
10 base in all stats, 30 points to distribute (Max 18 before other modifiers)

*More Specific details about the campaign backstory/plot to be added. Wanted to get you guys the numbers so you could start your builds.
For the most part the backstory of the prime can be built by the PC's. What they've been doing on the prime up until now, how they fit together, etc. The only important piece of info I'll really be giving you BEFORE the campaign starts is the details on the clues/info you gathered to discover your 'Quest'. Feel free to make assumptions with the prime, very little of your time after we start will be spent there anyways.

Last edited by Jemal; Thursday, 27th September, 2012 at 10:20 AM.

Intelligence is the capacity to understand old Ideas.
Imagination is the ability to come up with New Ideas.